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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29087055">World Shattered</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnowsGhost22/pseuds/SnowsGhost22'>SnowsGhost22</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>:), Angst, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, How Do I Tag, I'm horrible at choosing the right tags, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, One Shot, Original Character(s), Sad Ending, i don't know how to tag, seriously</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 11:35:26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,523</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29087055</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnowsGhost22/pseuds/SnowsGhost22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>James Gómez is a normal boy who goes to high school like every other teenager. But he has a secret. He has been seeing a boy from his school without anyone else knowing about it. For a long time, he had been afraid to tell anyone about his sexuality, since the town he lives in is not very accepting. So what happens when suddenly the whole school knows about his secret?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Original Male Character/Original Male Character</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>World Shattered</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is my very first story in English. I used to write a lot in German, but it's been awhile since I wrote a proper story so I'm really unsure about this one. Criticism - whether it's about the story or my English - is very welcome. </p><p>Anyways, have fun reading, I hope you like it :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>James sat down on a bench in a park, feeling tired and exhausted. The bench was wet from the rain that had poured out of the sky only an hour ago. It was uncomfortable to sit on and he shifted a bit, before finally calming down and accepting that it wouldn't get any better. He just didn't know what to do anymore.</p><p>His dad wouldn't talk to him. His mother... Well, he hadn't seen <em>her</em> in over two years. But somehow it still bothered him. When it had happened, when she had left, he had been so incredibly mad. He had expected that it would get better though, that after a year or two he wouldn't be so angry anymore. Yet here he was, angry at her for leaving him just like that, but at the same time missing her and wishing for her to be here.</p><p>Maybe she could've accepted him, been there for him, instead of just shutting him out and ignoring him like his dad did. On the other hand though, she had left and James hadn't heard from her ever since so did it really matter what she would have done now if she wasn't even here? If she so clearly didn't care about him?</p><p>Slowly, he shook his head. His mind had wandered off again, away from the actual problem.</p><p>His dad didn't want to talk to him, his mother was long gone and his... Boyfriend? No, that sounded wrong. He wasn't his boyfriend. After all, he had made sure to make that clear earlier that day.</p><p>James let out a frustrated sigh, shaking his head yet again - something he tended to do a lot. It was all so ridiculous. It was ridiculous and he wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. His nails started digging into his skin painfully as he curled his hands into fists and closed his eyes. A single tear ran down his face and he gave a shaky breath, trying to keep himself from crying.</p><p>The events from earlier kept replaying in his mind.</p><p>~~~~~~</p><p>He was at school like any other normal Monday. But this day was different. He could feel it from the moment that he stepped into the school building. Some of the other students seemed to be watching him, talking about him. But he managed to shake the feeling off, telling himself that it was nothing and that he was imagining things.</p><p>When he arrived at his locker, he looked around and only a few seconds later he saw him. James's face lit up and he smiled. As expected Liam saw him as well, but unlike usual, he just turned away and walked in a different direction. James's smile faltered.</p><p>What was going on? Why was Liam ignoring him?</p><p>For the past few weeks, the two of them had spent a lot of time together and two days ago, they had kissed for the first time. It had been an incredible feeling, unlike anything James had ever felt in his life before. Liam couldn't stop smiling that day either. He seemed just as happy as James, laughing and kissing him again and again.</p><p>Then, the day after, Sunday, they hadn't been able to see each other but they had spent a lot of time talking over text messages. Everything had seemed all right. Perfect, even. But now Liam was ignoring him and the other students kept staring at James, snickering and talking behind his back. He wasn't sure whether they thought he wouldn't notice or if they just didn't care. It didn't matter. Because in that moment, he didn't care.</p><p>Something was wrong. Really wrong. And it should've been a sign to maybe let Liam be. Just for now. Just until they were alone and could talk in private. Or maybe he should've just sent him a text message. There was a little voice in his head that urged him to do exactly that, but he didn't listen. Of course he didn't listen.</p><p>He shut his locker without having taken anything out of it and started running in the direction where Liam went. It didn't take long for James to catch up to him. They were in the middle of one of the hallways when he put his hand on Liam's shoulder and gently pulled him backwards to get him to stop walking. Liam spun around so fast that James let go of him and stepped back in surprise. But less than a second later he smiled as he let his eyes roam over Liam for only a split second.</p><p>His longish blonde hair was tied together in a bun at the back of his head. The piercing blue eyes that James loved so much were complimented by the navy blue shirt he was wearing. James couldn't help but smile even brighter when he looked into his eyes, but when he saw how cold and distant those eyes were looking at him, that smile faltered once again.</p><p>"Hey, Liam." But the other guy just scoffed and took a step back.</p><p>"Leave me alone, Gómez."</p><p>Confused, James shook his head, following the step that Liam had just taken to close the distance between them again. It wasn't on purpose, it was more of an instinct. Before he could think about it though, Liam pushed him away so hard that he stumbled backwards, almost falling to the ground. Shocked, James stared at him, not at all understanding what was going on, as everyone else around them now turned to see what was going on.</p><p>"Stay away from me, fag! You think I like you just because I was nice to you? Believe me, had I known that you are one of <em>them</em>, I never would've even come near you. Just leave me alone."</p><p>With those words, Liam spun around and left James there, standing in the middle of the hallway while all the other students immediately started whispering and yes, some of them were even laughing. But he couldn't move. Couldn't tell them to shut up and mind their own problems like he wanted to. He was too stunned to do anything, still not able to process what had just happened.</p><p>Only when he felt a hand on his shoulder did he snap out of it. Slowly, he turned around to see Eli, his best friend and the only person in the world who knew he was gay - until today.</p><p>Eli pulled James away from all the prying eyes, the whispers and the laughter. They ended up in one of the boys bathrooms. Almost no one used it anymore. It was old and only two toilets were in here, one of them was busted, the other one looked like it would break down and shatter into pieces the moment someone touched it. So it was safe in here.</p><p>"James?" Eli's voice was quiet and calm. His hand still rested on James's arm, reassuring him, giving him comfort.</p><p>When his best friend said his name, James slowly nodded, taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself. "Yeah?" His voice sounded shaky, like he was on the verge of crying. Of course Eli noticed that, so without another word he pulled James into a hug.</p><p>They stood there like that for what felt like an eternity to James and still, he didn't want to let go. But he knew that he had to at some point so after a few more moments he let go. His eyes felt wet, but he wasn't crying. And he wasn't going to. That's what he told himself. He couldn't give those guys out there that satisfaction. Even if they weren't here right now to see him cry, James knew out of experience that it was always obvious whenever he had cried. His eyes got red and puffy and everyone would be able to see it so he forced the tears to stay inside and instead took another deep breath to calm down.</p><p>"What happened? I mean, how..." He stopped talking, shaking his head. Nothing of this made sense to him. What had happened? Only two days ago, Liam had been kissing him, laughing and smiling with him and now he had insulted him, called him a fag in front of the entire school. And even before that, everyone had been talking about him.</p><p>Eli's sigh was what got him out of his spiraling thoughts and back to the real world. "This morning, someone sent a picture to some of the students here. And they sent it to their friends and you know... They sent it to their friends."</p><p>Eli took out his phone. He seemed to hesitate, but only a moment later he already gave James his phone. James turned the phone in his hands to look at the screen but the moment his eyes laid sight on the picture, his heart seemed to stop. His whole world seemed to stop for one short moment before it came crushing down on him.</p><p>He was looking at a picture of himself and Liam. They were standing at the door to James's house and they were kissing. It was night time and dark but the light on the front porch was enough to highlight James's face. Liam on the other hand was almost impossible to recognize in that picture.</p><p>So many things were going through James's mind, too many things. But one question came up again and again: Who had taken that picture?</p><p>People around here weren't really the most accepting when it came to stuff like this so James had never told anyone except Eli that he was gay. He had always been too afraid and now someone had outed him against his will.</p><p>Panic started to creep up in him. His dad. He had to tell him before anyone else did. Even though he was afraid that his father might not be able to accept him for who he really was, he had to tell him.</p><p>"James?" Eli took his phone out of James's hands and put one of his hands back on James's shoulder. "James. It's going to be okay, yeah? You're going to get through this. I know it sucks but you'll be okay. I'm here and I won't leave you. I'll always be there for you, okay?"</p><p>It took a few seconds for James to register what Eli had said, then he nodded. A small smile appeared on his face, even though he was still afraid and partly freaking out. But having Eli here helped a lot. "Thank you. I appreciate it. I really do." He took a deep breath and walked towards the door. "Come on, we have to get to class." Turning his head to face Eli, he was suddenly filled with a rush of determination. "You're right. I'll be okay. So let's go."</p><p>The rest of the day was horrible. While Eli was there in some of his classes, he also had to go to the rest of his classes alone and that's when it got worse. But he got through the day. Ignored the laughter and comments. At the end of the school day, he rushed home after promising Eli that he would be okay.</p><p>Now he was standing in front of his house, too afraid to go in and face his dad. It took him about 15 minutes to finally open the front door and walk inside. After taking off his shoes, he walked into the living room, feeling like he was about to throw up.</p><p>Then he saw his dad, sitting on the couch with his laptop in his lap and probably working on something. When he noticed his son, he looked up, his glasses hanging in a somewhat weird angle. His dark brown hair that was so similar to James's hair was hanging in his face, but it didn't seem to bother him.</p><p>"James! How was school?" It was a normal question that he asked every day, but today it made James tense up. He let his school bag sink to the ground and walked over to his dad. Wanting to get some distance between them, he sat down on the armchair.</p><p>"Dad? I... I have to tell you something." His voice was just as tense as he felt. Now visibly worried, his dad put aside the laptop and focused his attention completely on James.</p><p>"What's wrong? Did something happen at school? You know you can tell me anything."</p><p>Nodding, James nervously rubbed his hands over his legs while he was working up the courage he needed. "Yeah. Yeah, I know that Dad, thanks. It's just..." He stumbled over his own words and stopped for a moment. Just be straightforward. That would the be the best approach. Right? "I'm gay. I'm gay, dad. But before you say anything, I just want you to know that I'm still the same. I'm not any different than before. I'm your son that you raised. The son that you loved. That you <em>love</em>."</p><p>When he noticed that his dad was just sitting there, not saying anything and just staring at the wall, James stopped talking. "Dad? Dad, are you-"</p><p>"Stop." His dad's voice was quiet, but James stopped talking immediately. "Stop talking. I don't... I don't want to hear anything from you right now, James." He hesitated, seemed to think about his next words, before finally saying them. "In fact, I don't even want to see you right now. But I'm disappointed in you, James. I hope you know that."</p><p>With that, his father got up, took his laptop and left the room. Speechless, James watched him disappear in his bedroom. He had just left. Just like that. And he had told him that he was disappointed in him and that he didn't want to see him.</p><p>~~~~~~</p><p>So that's what had happened earlier that day and now here he was, sitting on a wet bench in a completely empty park. Withinone day, his whole life got ruined. He felt alone, more than ever before.</p><p>Suddenly, he felt something wet on his face. For a short moment, he thought that it had started raining again, before he realised that it wasn't rain on his face. It were tears. He let out a sad, humorless laugh. He just couldn't fight the tears anymore. For hours now, he had wanted to cry but refused to do so, but he was tired. He couldn't stop himself from crying anymore. Within a few seconds, his whole body started shaking from the crying.</p><p>His whole life was falling apart and he was just watching it happen. A horrible feeling of helplessness had crept up in him sometime during the day and had only gotten worse since then.</p><p>His dad didn't want to talk to him, his mom was gone, his not-boyfriend had made it clear that they were done and the whole school knew his secret and was making fun of him. He didn't know what to do do anymore and as much as he hated to admit it, maybe this was it.</p><p>Maybe he couldn't do anything.</p><p>Maybe this was his life now.</p>
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